Shooting the Moon
by Golden.Eyes.Are.Love
Summary: While walking in the woods, Leah is attacked by an animal-like creature. While her consciousness is slipping, she sees a dog in front of her with beautiful brown eyes. When she comes to, she is safe, and meets a boy with the exact same eyes. AU, JxL.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Leah POV**

I braced myself for the worst as Dr. Cullen walked into the room and faced my mother, brother, and I.

"Mrs. Clearwater, Seth, Leah. I'm terribly sorry.. Harry didn't make it."

And with those words, I felt like my world has been shattered into a million pieces. My heart had physically broken.

I had always been close with my father, but the last time I had ever saw him, we had gotten into a giant fight. Now I can't take back what I said to him and make it right. Tears welled up in my eyes, my body started shaking. I just wanted to die with him.

Goodbye Daddy, I'm so sorry.

**-3 weeks later-**

Things have, unfortunately, not gotten any better since Dad died.

Mom seemed to be suffering from severe depression. I couldn't have a decent conversation with her. She was just so.. I dunno.. out of touch with the world. Like a zombie, it wasn't her in her own body. She used to be so full of life, now whenever I see her I just feel sad. I long for my old mother back.

My little brother, Seth.. He's 14. He's been going through some.. odd changes. He's been gaining a lot of muscle, I've noticed. Ironic, since I've always made fun of him for being such a shrimp. Other than that, he's been so.. angry lately. Picking fights at school, losing some of his friends. I sometimes can hear him screaming in his room. And lately he's been gone for most of the days. I've tried to tell him that getting so angry won't help anything, but he always just says to me, "You don't understand."

I know it's not easy for them, but if Mom and Seth could just go back to normal, I may not feel like I'm just.. slipping away.

I came home from school one day, to find Mom crying at the dining room table.

"Mom?" I approached her slowly.

"Leah," she sobbed. "I can't find your brother. He hasn't been home all day."

Seth! Anger flared through me, how could he do this? But then, I felt fear. Where was my baby brother, and what was happening to him?

I hugged Mom. "I'll find him," I assured her. "you stay here."

"Please, just be careful, Leah," she whispered. "I couldn't stand it if something else happened." My heart sank.

I put my jacket back on, and headed out into the cold weather, with snow falling. There was a crunching sound as I walked on it.

Where could he be? I decided to take a walk in the forest, where he used to like to go.

"Seth?" I called out. "Seth!"

Nothing.

"Hello?" I shouted. "Seth!"

I heard a rustling coming from somewhere, and a crunching. Very similar to the sound when I walk in the snow.

"Hello?" I called out, fear building up in me. "Seth, is that you?"

No reply, more footsteps.

"Seth...?"

I broke out in a sprint, and suddenly fell to the ground. I tried to scream, but no sound came out. Something was clamping my mouth, an ice cold hand. I felt a painful sting somewhere on my arm, and my conciousness was fading. I tried to turn my head to see my attacker, but couldn't move an inch.

_Daddy, I'm coming, _were my last thoughts.

And then, there was nothing but darkness.

I awoke, feeling like my entire body had been drained. My body was shaking fiercely, almost like convulsions.

I heard something.. Sounded like, growling? Growling and barking and howling. It must have been an animal that attacked me. What the hell was that hand, then? And what the hell was happening? Why wasn't it coming back for more? Why wasn't I dead.

I lay there on the cold ground, the snow so cold it felt like knives were stabbing me all over my body.

There was a ripping sound.

Then, there was silence. I saw a dog looking thing step in front of me, his piercing brown eyes looking deep into mine.

And it was gone.

"Hey," I heard a voice call a few seconds after the dog vanished.

"Are you alright?" I was pretty sure it was talking to me. I wanted very much to reply, but couldn't find words.

"Shit," the voice cussed.

I heard more footsteps in the snow, followed by many more voices.

"I thought I smelled vampire!" one said, disgusted.

Vampire? What?

"This girl was attacked," another said, panting.

"Who is this?" asked a third. "Do we know her."

There was a gasp. "Oh my God!" a fourth, more familiar voice exclaimed. "Leah! No Leah, please, NO!"

"You know her?" The first voice I had heard asked.

"There's no time!" the familiar voice yelled. "Call Dr. Cullen! Tell him to get over here right now! Please!" I thought I felt someone pick me up off the ground. Whoever it was, they warmed me up right away.

"Was she bitten?"

"No, but I came 'round and that thing was sucking blood from her!"

What?

I wanted to scream, to ask what the hell was going on, but I couldn't remember how to talk.

And I was slipping away again.

I slowly opened my eyes, to a familiar place. My living room! I was on the couch. Was it all just a dream?

But I could also see that I was hooked up to a bunch of machines, including a heart monitor.

I gasped.

"Leah!" Suddenly, I was being crushed by someone. I gasped for air, and looked up.

Seth.

"Seth?" I whispered, it was all I could manage.

"Yes Leah, it's me," he said, still hugging me. "I'm so sorry."

"She's awake?" another familiar voice asked. Sounded like the first one I heard in the forest.

"Yeah," my brother answered.

I saw another face next to Seth.

"Hey," the other one said. "I'm Jake."

"Jake," I repeated. "What happened to me?"

Seth and Jake exchanged a glance.

"We can tell ya about that later," Jake answered. "The important thing is that you're ok."

I never knew this Jake, and he seemed.. quite relieved, like _he _was my brother and not Seth.

Then, I really looked into his eyes. They were the same piercing brown ones that the dog in the forest had.

God, I'm goin' outta my mind.

Jake smiled at me, it was warm and genuine, and I couldn't help but smile back.

Seth shot Jake a look, and Jake backed away a bit, but never took his eyes off my face.

"Why don't you go back to sleep for a bit, Lee?" Seth told me. "We'll.. try to explain things when you wake up."

"Someone needs to tell me what the hell happened right now!" I insisted.

"No!" Seth shot back, almost nervous. "Sleep a while first, you're so out of it."

I rolled my eyes, then squeezed them shut.

**Ah, ideas popping into my head left and right lately. Hello again. :) I always do stories about Edward and Bella, so I figured I'd change it up a bit. Please review and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**WOAH! Wow, I just really wanna thank you guys for all the reviews, favs, and alerts. Holy crap, waaaaaaaay more than I expected. All the alerts were blowing the roof off my inbox. Anyway, I'm on a writing spree lately, so here's another update. Thanks again guys, you're all awesome! :)**

**Just a few points I'd like to make;**

**#1- I changed the title of the story from "Welcome to a New World" to "Shooting the Moon." I felt that the first title wasn't very original. Hope I didn't piss anybody off with that. :/**

**#2- Leah is NOT a shifter. Also, I wanted to make her the same age as Jacob, so she's 16 years old.**

**Alright, hope you guys enjoy. :)**

**Chapter 2- Leah POV**

I awoke again, my head spinning. As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was that Jake was still there, napping on the loveseat across from me.

What was _with _him? I had never met him before this, and now he's acting like he's my bodyguard. Like he'd take a bullet for me.

Hoping to get someone's attention, I yawned loudly. Seth and Mom came darting into the room almost immediately, and Jake's eyes fluttered open.

There was another man too, a blonde-haired man who looked vaguely familiar.

"How ya doin'?" Seth asked me, and looked over at all the machines I was hooked up to.

"Um," I responded. "Why do I need all these machines?"

Jake stood up. "You needed to have some blood transfusions," he told me, and smiled at me sympathetically.

I looked over at my Mom, who looked more than a little shaken up.

"Mom?" I called her.

She ran over and hugged me tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry," she apologized. Here she goes with her sobbing again.

"It's not your fault, Mom," I assured her.

I looked over at the blonde man, and was finally able to recognize him. Dr. Cullen, the one who gave us the news about my dad.

"Hello, Leah," he said to me, a warm smile lighting up his features. Wow, I'd never noticed how pale he was. He looked almost... sickly. But beautiful at the same time. Weird.

"Hi.. Dr. Cullen."

"Please, call me Carlisle," he said.

"Ok Carlisle. Now um, would you mind telling me exactly what happened to me?"

From the corner of my eye, I could see my mother shaking, and Seth and Jake were looking rather nervous. Like they were saying to themselves, "_Maybe this isn't the best idea._"

"Leah," Carlisle paused, wondering where to begin. "you were attacked in the forest."

"I realize," I rolled my eyes. "but by what?"

Carlisle looked like he was about to tell me, but instead just said, "Don't worry about that right now, there will be time for that later. It's gone. Jacob took care of it for you."

I looked over at Jacob, who was still staring at me. I didn't know whether to be flattered, or creeped out.

My head began to spin. I never saw Jacob in the forest, only a dog. I was under the impression that the dog had killed off whatever attacked me.

Unless...

No, impossible. Those are just stupid myths, old urban legends.

And yet I was still questioning my sanity.

All I did was look over at Jacob and say, "Well thank you Jake, very much."

He smiled and nodded. "No trouble at all."

I would be able to ask Jacob about this later. Surely, he would still be here.

A few hours passed, and I was up and walking again, disconnected from all the machines. I couldn't bring myself to ask anyone about the dog thing, not even my own brother. I would wait to be alone with Jake.

A few more hours passed, and Carlisle had left, telling us that he would be back tomorrow to check up on me. Mom, exhausted, had went off to bed. Jake was still here with Seth, and they were both still awake.

"Ya sleeping here, Jake?" Seth asked.

"Yeah," Jacob answered. "Hope it's no trouble, man. It's pretty late to start goin' back home, ya know?"

Seth rolled his eyes. "You coulda left hours ago." Jake shot him a look, and silenced him.

"I'm goin' to bed. You can sleep on the couch, Jake," Seth said. "Coming, Lee?"

"Oh. Um, yeah," I answered, and started up the stairs. "Night, Jacob," I called.

"Night," I heard Jake answer.

I lied in bed for about an hour, still wide awake. I knew what I would do.

I assumed that Mom and Seth were both already asleep, so I creaked open my bedroom door tip-toed down the hallway. I could hear Seth's snoring erupting from his bedroom out here. Yep, definitely asleep.

I walked down the stairs, and back into the living room.

Jake was still awake, sitting up. There was a thoughtful expression on his face. He looked over, and his eyes lit up when he saw it was me. He looked surprised.

"Hey there," he greeted me.

"Hi," I stook next the the couch he was sitting on. "so um, what was that? In the woods?"

"Shit," he cussed under his breath. It was obvious he didn't want to be the one to tell me.

I tapped my foot impatiently.

"Listen Leah," he started. "you've heard the old legends about the tribe right?"

"Yeah... but my mom told me it was all just bull."

He sighed. "I used to think that too."

I felt like my heart had stopped. "You _used _to think that?" I repeated.

He didn't say or do anything. He just say completely still, looking a little.. sad?

"Jacob?" I asked.

"They're true, Leah," was all he said.

"No!" I shouted. "You're CRAZY!"

"I'm not!" he shot back, but calmed down almost immediately. "You can ask your brother."

I froze. "WHAT? ARE YOU TELLING ME MY LITTLE BROTHER IS A... WOLF?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you. Haven't you noticed any changes in him?"

I thought about the muscle he gained, the angriness, how he was always gone lately. And I realized that Jacob was right.

But I so desperately wanted him to be wrong.

I couldn't help myself, I broke down, crying on the floor.

I was there like that for a few moments, and suddenly, I felt Jake's arms wrap around me. They were warm, like how I remembered in the forest. I clung to his neck.

"Leah," Jacob whispered. "I'm so sorry, I know how you must feel. Just be thankful you never had to go through it. It was a living hell."

I felt terrible for Jacob, and for my brother.

"Are there others?" I asked him after I had calmed down a little bit.

"Yeah, there's an entire pack. I'm sure you know some of them. The ones who are still in high school besides your brother and I."

"Like..?" I asked.

He had told me the names, and I knew who most of them were. Jared, Paul, Colin, Brady, Quil, and Embry were in the same school as me. And the so-called "Alpha," Sam Uley, was my cousin Emily's fiancee. Oh my God...

"I'm sure this is way too much for you to process in one night.. I should have waited until tomorrow to-"

"No, no," I cut him off. "I'm glad that I know now.. Thank you, Jacob."

"So.. are you cool with this?" he wondered.

"Huh?" 

"With me.. and Seth.. all of us being werewolves," he asked, seeming nervous.

I thought about that. I had always been fascinated with wolves, but I would never think that members of my family, friends of mine would be.. wolves. I had heard the myths as a child, but my parents had told my brother and I that they were all just urban legends, not real at all.

I wonder how Seth felt about all this.

"Yes," I simply said.

Jacob sighed in relief. "Thank you."

I had one more question for him.

"Jake, why are you always watching me, and why are you always with me?" I asked, hoping I wasn't being nosy.

He looked down, avoiding looking me in the eye.

"When I saw you... in the woods..," he hesitated. "I just felt like.. I needed to be with you."

I wasn't completely sure what he meant by that, but I got butterflies in my stomach.


	3. Chapter 3

**Woo, I feel accomplished. Thanks guys for all the reviews and favs, everything. Again, here's another update. I've been on a serious writing spree. I'm really into writing this story. Unfortunately, don't expect an update every day like this all the time. Once school starts, I may not have a whole lot of time. I'm gonna be a freshman, ya know. I'll be too busy trying to get my locker open and getting beat on by older kids. Don't worry though, I'll make sure that it gets done.**

**By the way.. Random question; I'm looking for new music. Indie in particular. You guys got any indie music you like? Give me some people in the reviews.**

**Now that I've bored you all with my A/N, here's chapter 3. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 3- Leah's POV**

I was content in Jake's arms, I could have stayed there forever.

But then I remembered something.

"Jake?" I asked. "if the myths about wolves are true.. then what about.. the "Cold Ones?" I was nervous of what the answer would be.

There was a low rumble coming from Jake, a growl?

"Yeah," he mumbled in a sullen tone. "that was what gotcha in the forest."

"What?" I exclaimed. "You're telling me that there are _vampires _lingering around here?"

"Ohh, yeah." He wrinkled his nose, disgusted. "There's a whole coven of them around here, but, shockingly, it wasn't one of them. It was another one. One we've been trying to track down for weeks now." It was apparent that he was very angry. "But that one wasn't the biggest problem. There's still one more we have to deal with."

"Why is it hanging around here?"

His expression turned from angry to sad. "It's after my best friend, Bella."

"Oh my God, that poor girl!" I exclaimed, shocked. "Why?"

"Alright.. it's kinda important that you keep an open mind, ok?" he asked, and I nodded. "Alright. So Bella's been.. dating a vampire.. and when another vampire almost killed her, her vampire-boyfriend killed it. So now, the other vampire's um, mate, wants to avenge her dead mate. So she's been lurking around here for quite some time now. She hasn't really taken a leap at Bella yet, but we've been told what her intentions are. We've been trying to kill her for weeks. But we _cannot _get to her.

"The one who attacked you.. was made by the vampire we're trying to track right now. Now her defenses are low, so we may have an easier time finding her."

I was appalled. They were all putting their lives in danger for this one girl?

I was speechless.

"Even the other vampire coven is helping us to track her down," his expression was disgusted again. "but even they can't get to her, either."

"Where does this coven live?" I asked.

"In Forks, about 15 minutes away."

I thought about my brother, risking his life like this.

"Seth...," I whispered.

"Don't worry about Seth, kid is tougher than he looks," Jake assured me. "We've all got each other's backs."

I should have felt relieved, but wasn't. Now I would probably always worry about them all.

**Jacob's POV**

I knew what was happening.

I had imprinted. On Leah.

God, she's beautiful. More beautiful than any other girl I had ever seen before. Gravity wasn't holding me down to the Earth, oxygen wasn't what was keeping me going anymore. It was her.

I was so _pissed. _First my best friend, now.. the love of my life? I didn't care what the other guys said... This _leech_ was _mine _to rip to shreds.

"Jacob," Leah whispered. "I think I'm gonna go to bed now. It's 1:00 AM."

Crap, had we really been talking for an hour?

"Alright," I said, trying to keep the sadness out of my voice.

She slipped out of my arms. "Night. Thank you again, Jake."

"No problem," I told her. Really, I had to do it. As soon as I saw her, I was drawn to her. I _had _to save her. I stared as she walked up the stairs, and disappeared.

I lied back on the couch, wrapping the blanket around me, although I didn't really need it. I looked out the window, just staring at the snow. It reminded me of when I had found her.

**-Flashback-**

_I was running patrol by myself in the woods, and I recognized the stench of vampire immediately after it hit me. It was so strong, the thing could have been right next to me. _

_I ran toward the scent of the vampire, when I smelled something else too._

_Blood. Lots of it._

_I ran as fast as my 4 legs could carry me, and stopped when I saw it._

_A leech standing right in front of me, and under it was a girl. And a pool of blood._

_The vampire's face was covered in blood, that made me figure he'd taken a bite out of the girl. I immediately lept for the vampire, and we were fighting on the ground. Biting, growling, scratching.. I had to admit that it put up a good fight._

_But not good enough._

_I caught the vampire in a headlock with my claws, and used my teeth to tear its' head off._

_It was gone, for now. I would reassemble itself. I called the guys in to bring some matches._

_And I switched to my human form, grabbing my clothes which had been tied onto my legs._

_"Hey, are you ok?" I tried asking._

_The girl was sideways on the ground, but I still heard her heart beating. I turned her over carefully._

_And I saw her face._

_My reaction was groundbreaking._

_My pulse quickened at an enormous rate, and it seemed like she was glowing._

_"Jake!" the pack's Alpha, Sam, called a few minutes later. "You took care of one?"_

_I didn't respond, I just stared at this amazing girl._

_"Jake!" Sam yelled._

_"Um, y-yeah..," I stuttered._

_"Nice!" Sam praised me, then took a look at the girl's face._

_"Leah!" he whispered, his expression appalled._

_"You know her?" I asked._

_"She's Emily's cousin! And Seth's sister," he said, lifting her off the ground._

_I heard new footsteps. Paul._

"I thought I smelled vampire!" Paul said, his face twisted.

_"This girl was attacked." said Sam, out od breath._

_Next came Embry. "Who is this? Do we know her?"_

_Then there was Seth. "Leah? Leah!" he exclaimed, extremely worried. "No, please Leah, NO!" he screamed. "Call Dr. Cullen. NOW! Please!"_

Thank God I had saved her. I wonder what I would've done if she had died.

Just the thought of her not being her sent shivers down my spine.

But at least I could rest easy tonight, knowing that she was safe, and at home.

Although.. there was still the matter of the other vampire.


End file.
